A storm system tracked from Nebraska eastward across central Illinois on January 14th, bringing total snowfall accumulations of 3 to 5 inches. As the system moved further east, strong northwesterly winds developed across the area, creating considerable blowing and drifting snow.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS ILX wrote it up.
A storm system tracked from Nebraska eastward across central Illinois on January 14th, bringing total snowfall accumulations of 3 to 5 inches. As the system moved further east, strong northwesterly winds developed across the area, creating considerable blowing and drifting snow. Numerous traffic accidents occurred as the snow was initially falling, particularly during the morning hours of January 14th.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Lincoln, IL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 13, 11:49 PM CST, 11 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 1149 PM CST TUE JAN 13 2009 .DISCUSSION... ISSUED 858 PM CST TUE JAN 13 2009 SNOW IS SPREADING INTO CENTRAL IL PRETTY MUCH AS EXPECTED. THE LATEST MODEL RUNS SHOW THE CLIPPER IS EXPECTED TO FOLLOW A SLIGHTLY FARTHER SOUTH TRACK THAN THE 12Z MODELS SHOWED. THE HEAVIER SNOW BAND MAY EXTEND A LITTLE FARTHER SOUTH OF I-74...POSSIBLY AS FAR SOUTH AS LINCOLN. THE 02Z RUC IS SHOWING THIS TREND...AS WELL AS THE 18Z GFS. THE 00Z NAM IS IN...AND SHOWS THE HEAVY AXIS ALONG I-74...NOT NORTH OF I-74. THERE ARE EVEN INDICATIONS OF A FEW LOCATIONS GETTING NEAR THE 6 INCH MARK. THE COLD AIR AND FLUFFY NATURE OF THE SNOW WILL ALLOW THE SNOW TO PILE UP QUICKLY. WILL KEEP THE ADVISORY GOING INSTEAD OF A WARNING...AS THE MAJORITY OF THE AREA SHOULD REMAIN LESS THAN 6 INCHES. EVEN WITH SLIGHTLY HIGHER SNOW TOTALS... MOST AREAS NORTH OF LINCOLN WILL BE IN THE 3 TO 5 INCH RANGE ON THE HIGH SIDE. BLOWING ON WEDNESDAY WILL MAKE MEASURING THE SNOW QUITE DIFFICULT. DRIFTS AND REDUCED VISIBILITY IN THE BLOWING SNOW WILL MAKE TRAVEL QUITE DIFFICULT ON WEDNESDAY...ESPECIALLY ON NORTH-SOUTH ROADS. ACTUALLY...WINDS WILL BE NW...SO EVEN EAST-WEST ROADS WILL SEE PLENTY OF DRIFTING. I BUMPED UP THE SNOW TOTALS IN THE GRIDS TO ACCOUNT FOR RAPID SNOW ACCUMS BETWEEN 3 AM AND 8 AM. LOW TEMPS HAVE ALREADY BEEN REACHED...AND SOUTHERLY FLOW AND INCREASING CLOUDS HAS TURNED TEMP TRENDS WARMER. THAT WILL CONTINUE THE REST OF THE NIGHT...STEADY OR SLOWLY RISING TEMPS. SNOW WILL CONTINUE WED MORNING IN THE NE THIRD OF THE CWA...WITH ACCUMULATIONS CONTINUING UNTIL LATE MORNING. A VERY BLUSTERY DAY IS IN STORE FOR WED. UPDATED GRIDS AND ZONES WILL BE AVAILABLE SHORTLY. SHIMON && .AVIATION... ISSUED 1149 PM CST TUE JAN 13 2009...FOR THE 06Z TAFS CLIPPER SNOWS DEVELOPING SLIGHTLY AHEAD OF ORIGINAL FORECAST. UPDATED PIA/BMI/SPI TO ACCOUNT FOR SOONER ONSET OF SNOW AND MVFR VIS/CIGS. ISENTROPIC LIFT IS INTENSIFYING AHEAD OF THE LOW CENTER...WHICH IS JUST ENTERING NW MO AT 05Z. PRESSURE FALLS SHOW THE LOW SHOULD TRACK OVER OR JUST S OF SPI AND DEC AS IT HEADS INTO INDIANA BY 18Z WED. RADAR TRENDS SHOW AN BAND OF LIFR VIS/CIG SNOWS WILL PUSH ACROSS THE TAF SITES SHORTLY AFTER 06Z FOR A COUPLE HOURS. ADDED SOME TEMPOS FOR VLIFR VIS/CIGS EARLY IN THE TAF PERIOD...MAINLY FOR PIA/BMI. SPC MESO DISCUSSION SHOWS THAT THIS INITIAL WAVE OF SNOW MAY BE THE MAIN EVENT...AND THAT THE SECOND WAVE OF HEAVIER SNOW AROUND 12Z MAY NOT MATERIALIZE AS THE MODELS INDICATE. WILL KEEP SOME MENTION OF LOWER VIS/CIGS AROUND 12Z ACROSS THE NORTH FOR NOW. SATELLITE TRENDS SHOW A DRYING TREND SOONER THAN MODELS INDICATE...AND WARMER CLOUD TOPS ARE ENTERING W IOWA ALREADY. SNOWFALL AMOUNTS MAY NOT REACH 5 INCH TOTALS...BUT 2 TO 4 INCHES STILL LOOKS GOOD. WILL KEEP BLSN FOR WED AFTERNOON EVERYWHERE...AS NW WINDS CRANK UP TO 20G30KT. EVEN A LITTLE SNOW ON THE GROUND WILL BLOW AND REDUCE VIS TO 1SM OR LESS AT TIMES. WINDS SHOULD REMAIN GUSTY WED EVENING AS THE COLD AIR RUSHES INTO THE AREA. SKIES WILL CLEAR OUT FROM W TO E WED EVE. SHIMON && .PREV DISCUSSION... ISSUED 334 PM CST TUE JAN 13 2009 LATEST SURFACE ANALYSIS HAD A SKINNY RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE EXTENDING FROM THE SOUTHERN PLAINS INTO THE UPPER MIDWEST. FURTHER UPSTREAM...THE LATEST IN OUR RECENT SERIES OF CLIPPER SYSTEMS WAS OVER THE NORTHERN HIGH PLAINS. THE SNOW CHANCES/AMOUNTS WITH THE APPROACHING CLIPPER LATE TONIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY...AS WELL AS HOW COLD IT WILL BE IN THE WAKE OF THE SYSTEM OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS ARE THE PRIMARY FORECAST CONCERNS THIS AFTERNOON. 12Z MODELS IN GOOD OVERALL AGREEMENT WITH THE CLIPPER SYSTEM... THOUGH THERE ARE SUBTLE DIFFERENCES IN THE TRACK OF THE STORM. STILL PREFER THE SOUTHERN MOST TRACK OF THE GFS...GIVEN THE DIGGING NATURE OF THE MEAN UPPER TROF...WHICH WOULD SUPPORT THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL ALONG AND NORTH OF THE I-74 CORRIDOR. GUIDANCE TEMPERATURES STILL SHOWING SOME SPREAD...LIKELY A RESULT OF THE STORM TRACK DIFFERENCES AND RESULTING DIFFERENCES IN SNOWFALL. WILL TEND TO FOLLOW A BLEND OF MODEL TEMPERATURES GIVEN LINGERING UNCERTAINTY. SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY... TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY...CLIPPER WILL RAPIDLY DIVE SOUTHEAST TONIGHT...LIKELY REACHING WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS BY 12Z WEDNESDAY. THE SYSTEM WILL CONTINUE EAST TO SOUTHERN OHIO BY 00Z THURSDAY. STRONG WAA/ISENTROPIC LIFT AND THE CORRESPONDING LOW CONDENSATION PRESSURE DEFICITS SUPPORT SNOW BREAKING OUT FROM NORTHWEST TO SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA OVERNIGHT...LINGERING INTO EARLY WEDNESDAY AS THE UPPER WAVE/JET MOVE THROUGH. THE FORCING OVERNIGHT IS QUITE STRONG...BUT THE PERIOD OF STRONG FORCING IS BRIEF AND THE AVAILABLE MOISTURE LIMITED. STILL...THE HIGH SNOW TO WATER RATIO EXPECTED DUE TO THE COLD AIRMASS SUPPORTS A BAND OF 2-4 INCH SNOWS...PRIMARILY ALONG AND NORTH OF THE I-74 CORRIDOR. LOWER SNOW TOTALS ARE EXPECTED AS YOU HEAD SOUTH FROM I-74. THERE IS NOT A STRONG SIGNAL OF A GOOD DEFORMATION SNOW BAND ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE CLIPPER...SO EXPECT SNOWS TO TAPER OFF PRETTY QUICKLY WEDNESDAY. HOWEVER...AS WINDS PICK UP ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE CLIPPER SYSTEM...WITH WIND GUSTS OVER 30 MPH...BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WILL DEVELOP ACROSS AREAS THAT RECEIVED ACCUMULATING SNOW. THE COMBINATION OF ACCUMULATING AND BLOWING SNOW ACROSS NORTHERN SECTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA WILL MAKE TRAVEL TRICKY. SO...HAVE ISSUED A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN NORTHERN SECTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA OVERNIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY...COLD AIR WILL CONTINUE TO SURGE INTO THE REGION INTO AT LEAST THURSDAY NIGHT ON NORTHWEST WINDS AS AN ARCTIC HIGH BUILDS THROUGH ILLINOIS. THIS COLD AIR WILL BE ENHANCED ACROSS THE NORTHERN SECTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA WHERE SNOW COVER WILL EXIST. THIS COLD AIR WILL RESULT IN TWO NIGHTS OF NEAR OR SUB ZERO LOWS WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY NIGHT AND A DAY OF SINGLE DIGIT HIGHS ON THURSDAY. THESE BITTERLY COLD TEMPERATURES WILL COMBINE WITH THE WIND TO PRODUCE WIND CHILL VALUES OF -15F OR COLDER FOR MUCH OF THE PERIOD. HAVE DECIDED TO ISSUE A WIND CHILL ADVISORY FROM 06Z THURSDAY-18Z FRIDAY FOR AREAS NORTH OF I-70 TO ACCOUNT FOR THE BITTERLY COLD CONDITIONS. WHILE AREAS SOUTH OF I-70 SHOULD REMAIN ABOVE ADVISORY CRITERIA DUE TO SLIGHTLY WARMER TEMPERATURES AND LITTLE/NO SNOW COVER...IT WILL STILL BE QUITE COLD THERE TOO. TEMPERATURES WILL BEGIN TO MODERATE SOME ON FRIDAY AS THE ARCTIC HIGH SHIFTS EAST AND WINDS BEGIN TO TURN TO THE SOUTHWEST. LONG TERM...SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY...MODELS/ENSEMBLES REMAIN IN REASONABLE AGREEMENT WITH THE MEAN FLOW PATTERN THROUGH MUCH OF THE EXTENDED FORECAST PERIOD...WITH A RIDGE WEST/TROF EAST CONFIGURATION ACROSS NORTH AMERICA. HOWEVER...THE AGREEMENT WITH RESPECT TO THE SMALLER SCALE WAVES DIVING INTO THE MEAN TROF IS STILL NOT VERY GOOD AND GETS INCREASINGLY POOR WITH TIME. THE CORE OF THE COLDEST AIR WITHIN THE MEAN EASTERN NORTH AMERICAN TROF IS STILL EXPECTED TO RETREAT TO NEW ENGLAND AND EASTERN CANADA THROUGH THE PERIOD AND THIS WILL RESULT IN A MODERATION OF TEMPERATURES. AS IN RECENT DAYS...WILL NOT HAVE ANY MENTION OF PRECIPITATION AT THIS TIME. WHILE SEVERAL SHORT WAVE IMPULSES ARE EXPECTED TO DIVE INTO THE MEAN UPPER TROF DURING THE PERIOD...THESE IMPULSES WILL BE MOISTURE STARVED AND NO STRONG MODEL CONSENSUS EXISTS ON THEIR TIMING OR TRACK. HOWEVER...THE TRACK PREDICTED BY A BULK OF THE SOLUTIONS SUGGESTS MOST OF THE PRECIPITATION SHOULD STAY TO OUR NORTH AND EAST. THE MODELS ARE SIGNALING A TRANSITION TO A MORE ZONAL FLOW PATTERN JUST BEYOND THIS FORECAST PERIOD...BUT ARE CURRENTLY ALL OVER THE PLACE IN HOW WE WILL GET THERE. STAY TUNED. BAK && .ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM CST WEDNESDAY FOR ILZ027>031- 036>038-040>046. WIND CHILL ADVISORY FROM MIDNIGHT WEDNESDAY NIGHT TO 12 PM CST FRIDAY FOR ILZ027>031-036>038-040>057-061. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 305 PM CST TUE JAN 13 2009 ILZ027>031-036>038-040>046-141200- CHAMPAIGN-DE WITT-FULTON-KNOX-LOGAN-MARSHALL-MASON-MCLEAN-PEORIA- PIATT-SCHUYLER-STARK-TAZEWELL-VERMILION-WOODFORD- 305 PM CST TUE JAN 13 2009 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 6 PM CST WEDNESDAY... ...WIND CHILL ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT WEDNESDAY NIGHT TO 12 PM CST FRIDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS AND EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT A WEAK WINTER WEATHER SYSTEM WILL MOVE QUICKLY FROM THE DAKOTAS INTO THE MIDWEST ON WEDNESDAY. SNOW WILL BEGIN LATE TONIGHT AND MAY ACCUMULATE UP TO 2 INCHES BY DAWN WEDNESDAY. ALTHOUGH RIVER STAGES ALONG THE ILLINOIS RIVER WILL BE FALLING... THE RIVER IS FORECAST TO REMAIN IN FLOOD FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS FROM HAVANA DOWNSTREAM. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY SNOW WILL CONTINUE ON WEDNESDAY...WITH OCCASIONAL HEAVY SNOW DURING THE MORNING HOURS. STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL OF 2 TO 4 INCHES CAN BE EXPECTED. AFTER THIS STORM MOVES OFF...ANOTHER SURGE OF BITTERLY COLD AIR WILL OVERSPREAD THE REGION. DAYTIME HIGHS THURSDAY AND FRIDAY WILL BE IN THE SINGLE DIGITS AND LOWS WILL BE WELL BELOW ZERO. WIND CHILL READINGS OF 15 TO 25 DEGREES BELOW ZERO WILL BE COMMON. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED THROUGH TONIGHT. WITH THE SNOW EXPECTED LATE TONIGHT...ANY SNOWFALL REPORTS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. ILZ047>057-061-141200- CASS-CHRISTIAN-COLES-DOUGLAS-EDGAR-MACON-MENARD-MORGAN-MOULTRIE- SANGAMON-SCOTT-SHELBY- 305 PM CST TUE JAN 13 2009 ...WIND CHILL ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT WEDNESDAY NIGHT TO 12 PM CST FRIDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS AND EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT THE NEXT STORM SYSTEM TO AFFECT THE AREA WILL BEGIN SPREADING SNOW INTO CENTRAL ILLINOIS AROUND MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. THE SNOW MAY ACCUMULATE AN INCH OR TWO BY DAWN WEDNESDAY MORNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY SNOW WILL CONTINUE ON WEDNESDAY...WITH A STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL OF 1 TO 2 INCHES LIKELY. AFTER THIS STORM MOVES OFF...ANOTHER SURGE OF BITTERLY COLD AIR WILL OVERSPREAD THE REGION. DAYTIME HIGHS THURSDAY AND FRIDAY WILL BE IN THE SINGLE DIGITS AND LOWS WILL BE WELL BELOW ZERO. WIND CHILL READINGS OF 10 TO 20 DEGREES BELOW ZERO WILL BE COMMON. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED THROUGH TONIGHT. ILZ062-063-066>068-071>073-142115- CLARK-CLAY-CRAWFORD-CUMBERLAND-EFFINGHAM-JASPER-LAWRENCE-RICHLAND- 305 PM CST TUE JAN 13 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS AND SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY A REINFORCING SURGE OF ARCTIC AIR WILL PUSH ACROSS THE AREA LATER WEDNESDAY. HIGH TEMPERATURES ON BOTH THURSDAY AND FRIDAY WILL STRUGGLE TO REACH THE LOWER TEENS...WHILE OVERNIGHT LOW TEMPERATURES WILL DROP TO ZERO TO 5 ABOVE THURSDAY MORNING...AND AT OR JUST BELOW ZERO BY FRIDAY MORNING. IN ADDITION...GUSTY NORTHWEST WINDS WILL CREATE WIND CHILL READINGS IN THE 5 TO 15 BELOW ZERO RANGE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED THROUGH TONIGHT.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
A woman lost control of her car on Illinois Route 121 near Mt. Pulaski at around 8 AM on January 14th. Her vehicle slid into the path of an oncoming semi-truck and crashed. The driver of the car was pronounced dead at the scene.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Weather, Logan | 2009-01-14 | 26 | Female | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, January 2009
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 149707.